


Something Extraordinary

by Emily_Woods



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/F, no-magic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-24 22:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12022596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_Woods/pseuds/Emily_Woods
Summary: ‘Okay… Are you sexually active?’ Dr. Swan asked simply, still writing down the previous answer.‘I am not’.‘Really?!’





	Something Extraordinary

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a promt, based on a real-life dialogue and found somewhere in the buzzfeed stories or in the depth of tumblr.  
> Updated 25/9/17 - now has one chapter instead of multiple.

Regina sipped a little of her Chardonnay. Sometimes she thought she became friends with Kathryn only because of the woman’s profound taste in alcohol.

‘And so we made up again!’ Nolan shared happily. Regina wasn’t really listening, just nodding from time to time – if she payed attention to every fight Kathryn had with her husband, she would’ve gone mad a long, long time ago.

‘Anyways, enough about me. How are you feeling recently, darling? Has your pain gone away?’

‘I’m feeling a little better now, thank you’, Regina lied tiredly.

Kathryn may have talked a lot, but that didn’t mean she was stupid or insensitive.

‘Right’, Regina could see that she didn’t believe a single word of the previous sentence. ‘Honey, I really do think you have to make an appointment with the doctor. I know how you think it’s a waste of time and that your present condition will improve on its own, but still it is really important to stay safe, alright?’

Regina made a usual mental note to herself not to be friends with psychologists ever again. She couldn’t help it though – Kathryn was her life-long and, so far, only good friend she was able to trust. No matter what Regina thought of the doctor’s appointment, Kathryn seemed to be the only adult person who truly cared about her well-being. That costs a lot in Ms. Mills’ world.

‘Ugh, alright. I will ask my assistant to find some clinic first thing in the morning’, she said with irritation, still feeling thankful in the depths of her soul.

‘No need, I know a great professional in that area’, Kathryn smiled, hanging her a business card.

‘Dr. James Kenneth, gynecologist’, Regina read out loud. Well, she definitely wasn’t familiar with that person. And why would she? “Mills and Gold” legal consulting firm had nothing to do with medical services.

‘He is a sweet man, very good at what he does’, Kathryn assured her, still noticing traces of uncertainty on Regina’s face.

‘Fine. I will make an appointment’, Mills said impatiently, suddenly feeling sick again and pressing her hand to the lower abdomen under the table, but making sure her face hadn’t shown even a glimpse of pain she was having.

“Maybe”, she thought, pressing the hand slightly harder, “it isn’t such a waste of time after all”.

***

Regina called to the clinic in the afternoon and a lovely young lady on the reception informed her, that Dr. Kenneth wasn’t working this week due to some personal reasons. Mills thanked the girl, almost sighing with relief and already planning an argument with Kathryn later.

‘Miss Mills?’ the voice at the end of the receiver was asked, definitely not for the first time.

‘Yes?’ Reginal automatically answered, having forgotten about the receptionist already.

‘If you’d like, ma’am… Dr. Swan is Dr. Kenneth’s substitute and she is working this week. She used to be his very best student, Miss Mills, and all the patients love her. She is free in the evening, at 6:30 pm. Would you like me to make an appointment?’

Regina looked over her schedule hopefully and has found nothing between 6 and 8 pm. What choice exactly did she have?

‘Yes, please. I will be there at half past six, sharply’, she sighed.

‘Of course, ma’am. Have a lovely day’.

***

Surely, Dr. Swan wasn’t exactly the person recommended to her, but the clinic had a good reputation, so Regina figured, that there won’t be any problems. She walked to the lovely receptionist, who had “Ruby” written on her badge, exactly at 6:28 pm and smiled politely.

‘Dr. Swan is there to see you, Miss Mills. Room 243, on your left’, Ruby said pleasantly.

Regina headed along the corridor and thought about how she hated hospitals. Bringing bad news was much more common in these walls, than bringing good ones. Or maybe it was only from her own experience. She tried to calm herself down and knocked on the door.

‘Please, come in’, Regina heard immediately.

She did. The room was quite spacious, for a doctor’s consulting room. A beautiful blonde woman was sitting at the table, scribbling down some notes and glancing at her computer from time to time. Her legs were crossed, long fair hair tied up in a pony-tail and she had red lipstick and glasses on.

The first thought Regina had about her was “she is way too young to be a doctor”. This girl in front of her must be a nurse, she supposed.

‘Is it Dr. Swan’s office?’ Regina asked nervously. She didn’t fancy the idea to be sent around the hospital, knocking on every door.

‘It sure is, I am doctor Swan’, the woman smiled and rose from the chair to offer her a hand.

Regina shook it, trying not to look surprised or disappointed.

‘Miss Mills’, she abruptly introduced herself and took the vacant chair across the table.

Dr. Swan nodded, sitting beside her computer and looking quite innocent and pleased with her life. Regina started thinking this whole situation is a big mistake.

‘What can I help you with, Miss Mills?’ the blonde woman said, still smiling.

‘Well, you are the doctor - you tell me’.

Regina didn’t mean to snap at her, it was a defense mechanism. When normal people got warried or nervous, she just got… well, like that.

Dr. Swan still laughed, a little bit forcefully.

‘Right, let’s just start with the typical questions for the medical record’, she proposed. ‘I have most of the information I need from your previous medical records, we will just have to refresh some of it’.

‘Sounds like a lovely way of spending time’, Reginal said sarcastically.

‘Oh, you have no idea’, the woman answered with the same amount of sarcasm in her voice. Regina felt a tiny wave of respect. ‘Okay, so… do you have a regular menstruation cycle?’

‘I do’.

Dr. Swan wrote down a few words in her keyboard.

‘Do you use any hormonal therapy? Any drugs, that consist of hormones or their equivalents?’

‘No’.

‘Right…’ she wrote down a few more things. ‘Have you had an abortion in the last year or so?’

‘I didn’t’.

‘Mhm… Is there something troubling you? Any abdominal pain? Bleeding? Sudden spasms?’

Regina inhaled deeply.

‘Yes, the pain has been… troubling me for some time now. It’s nothing I can’t handle though, just unpleasant spasms in the lower part of the stomach’.

‘I see’, the woman frowned, writing all of this down. She didn’t look at Regina directly, which made the whole situation much less awkward.

‘How long are you suffering from that?’

‘About a month’ Regina answered, mentally rolling her eyes at the word “suffering”. ‘As I’ve said already, it is nothing I can’t handle’.

‘Than why are you here?’ the blonde chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

‘A friend made me come’, Regina admitted finally.

‘You seem to have great friend than, Miss Mills. Let’s just get it over with – I will help you, if you want me to. As far as I am concerned, this is not a normal situation for a young woman to experience this kind of pain on a daily basis’.

Regina nodded silently, admitting the truth and looking sharply at the doctor. The woman didn’t even move back a little, like people usually did, and continued watching her straight in the eye. This Dr. Swan was certainty something.

‘Shall we continue? Do you consume enough vitamins?’

‘I sure do’.

‘Okay… Are you sexually active?’ Dr. Swan asked simply, still writing down the previous answer.

‘Currently I am not’.

‘Really?!’

Regina raised her head only to find a shocking look on the blonde’s face.

‘Wow, I’m sorry, that was extremely inappropriate’, she corrected herself and coughed in embarrassment, her cheeks slightly pink now.

‘Yes, it was, Dr. Swan’, Reginal said coldly, feeling some kind of disappointment.

‘It’s just… you’re a young and extremely beautiful woman, so I just assumed…’

‘I have my reasons’, Regina smiled and tilted her head slightly, now thinking about that fact, that the woman in front of her found her attractive.

‘Of course,’ Dr. Swan nodded, apparently still trying to understand why on Earth would she ever say that to a patient.

Regina definitely didn’t have to explain herself in this situation. There was nothing she was obliged to clarify or specify, but she found herself in the middle of blurring out:

‘I have a small son’.

Dr. Swan’s face lit up, so Regina reckoned, that she loved kids.

‘Oh, so you gave birth recently? I haven’t seen anything about that in your medical record, I should probably add that…’

‘No, I adopted the baby’, Regina explained calmly.

‘Oh, God, that was once again very inappropriate of me to assume…’ her cheeks went a little pink again and Regina caught herself thinking that look suited young woman a lot.

‘You seem to assume a lot, Doctor Swan’.

‘I apologize. And please call me Emma’.

Mills raised her eyebrow, extremely surprised to hear that.

‘I’m not really used to people calling me “doctor” yet, I… only go my degree last spring’, she admitted under the patient’s intent gaze.

Well, that explained her young looks. Regina still thought, that first name basis was a little bit too much, especially with a member of medical personnel.

‘I have to ask you to take off your clothes. So I could… you know…’

‘Examine me?’ Regina suggested, starting to enjoy the situation. She was much more acquainted with this scenario, where people found her attractive and were stumbling over their own words, trying to talk to her.

‘Right, that’, Emma said with a cough, feeling the redness filling up her cheeks. Jesus Christ, she was a professional, she spent about third of her life studying medicine and learning how to communicate with patients. Emma was more than able to handle a woman she found attractive.

Regina took all of her clothes and got comfortable in a special chair for patients. She was wondering if Dr. Swan was experienced enough to tell if something was wrong.

Emma put on her gloves and changed to the professional in the blink of an eye. The clumsiness and redness were all gone, her face was focused, whole body tense and hands were performing what apparently seemed like a usual procedure. She run a few tests, sent some of them to the labs and asked a couple of new questions.

She has also written down a few more things on her computer, while Regina was changing back to her own clothes.

‘Right, so now we just have to wait for the lab results. They will be here tomorrow. Ruby can send them to you via e-mail or you can come directly to me and then we will see what can be done about them’.

Mills looked Emma all over again and suddenly realized, that she was okay with thought of seeing this young woman again. Which is much more than Regina can say about most of the people she has to communicate with.

‘Do you have time tomorrow at 12 o’clock?’ she asked. Emma opened up a black journal and nodded in agreement. Regina was polite enough not to roll her eyes and shake her head disapprovingly. Who on Earth still uses paper personal organizers in the 21st century? ‘So I will see you tomorrow, Miss Swan. Good evening’.

***

‘So how was it?’ Kathryn dialed her, when she was driving home.

‘It was okay, I guess? My lab results will be there tomorrow and we will talk more about possible solutions’.

‘See? I told you, you’d like that man! He’s a duck of a fellow, isn’t he?’

‘Right’, Regina agreed absentmindedly. She wasn’t even sure why she lied, it just slipped naturally.

‘Anyways, so how was your day, darling?’

And they started talking business. It was a usual, safe and comfortable topic. Regina felt her shoulders finally relaxing after a long day. She made a U-turn, complaining about her old client, and thought how she would be able to see Henry in just a few minutes.

‘A can’t hear the traffic anymore, which means, that you’re almost home – safe and sound. I’ll leave you to Henry, then. Say hi to him and promise, that auntie Kate will pay him a visit tomorrow’.

‘Will do’, Regina promised and parked the car.

She made a deal with Gold a few years ago, that when Henry appeared in her life, she will be working only three days a week, leaving everything else in Gold's firm hands. It was a sound, rational decision, because Regina loved her job and didn’t want to become a full-time mom. It also meant, she had to leave her little baby boy with a nanny for almost three days and that wasn’t an easy thing.

‘Henry, honey, mommy’s home’, she announced in the doorway, taking off her shoes.

She heard a sudden gasp from the living room, a little squeal and then rapid tiny footsteps. Henry fell into her arms, having stumbled over his toy or something, squealed again and hugged her with a happy ‘Mommy!’

Regina lifted him up and nodded warmly at Eugenia Lucas, who was standing in the doorway and smiling at that scene. Regina looked at Henry’s face.

‘Have you been a good boy today, my love? I can see you got your candy, right?’ she wiped a little chocolate stain in the corner if his mouth.

‘Yeah. And I made dyno… di-no-sa-urs’, Henry shared excitedly. ‘Rrrraawrrrr’.

‘I see that you’ve had a good time, then. Certainly, your day was much more interesting, than mine’.

‘Certainly’, Henry repeated with all seriousness and run to the kitchen for something. Missis Lucas said her goodbyes to both Regina and Henry, and left.

Regina looked at how happy her son is and for the first time in years thought about how hard and exhausting it is to be an adult. Especially a single mom. She shook her head - not that it was something wrong with being a single mom, she loves Henry very much and has never  _ever_  regretted her decision to become his parent in the first place, but still… Sometimes – very rarely – she thought about how fun it must be to share every exiting thing her son does with someone.

Unfortunately, Regina was never good with sharing responsibilities. Even at school and college she preferred to complete every project on her own, rather than rely on someone. Maybe it was her weakness, maybe it was her strength – she didn’t know that. It was just  _the way things were always done_ in her life.

‘Mommy, let’s get a dog’, Henry appeared in a room from nowhere and interrupted her train of thought.

‘Honey, we already have a dog, remember? He is currently sleeping in your bed’.

‘No, that's my toy. I want a real, big and shaggy dog’ Henry yawned and rubbed his eyes.

‘Sure, Henry, maybe someday we will get you a dog’ she picked him up and went to the upstairs bathroom.

‘Promise?’

‘I said maybe’.

‘Maybe isn’t a no’, Henry proclaimed philosophically and hugged her neck.

***

The next day Regina knocked on Emma’s office door a little bit after midday and adjusted her hair. She spent the last half an hour trying to tell herself everything’s gonna be all right. Still there was this little voice in her head that just won’t shut up and kept producing the darkest scenarios possible.

The door opened almost immediately and revealed a rather excited woman.

‘Hi!’ Emma squeaked. ‘Erm… I mean, hello’.

Regina smiled. She found Dr. Swan behavior extraordinary be all means since the day they met.

‘Good afternoon, Dr. Swan’.

‘It’s Emma’, the woman said automatically, but Regina completely ignored her.

There was a pause. They were still standing in the doorway.

‘Should we..?’ Regina nodded toward the room.

‘Oh! Right, that’s right! Please do come in’, Emma looked like she was giving herself a mental cuff on the nape.

Regina sat comfortably on the visitor’s armchair and crossed her legs. Owner of the room collapsed on the chair right across her.

‘So…’ Emma started, uncertain, looking at some papers on her desk. ‘Good news – you’re not dying!’ she announced happily.

‘Now that’s a relief’, Regina said dryly, not impressed by Emma’s merry party voice. ‘What about the bad news?’

‘Bad news?’ Swan asked, frowning.

‘Yes, when people say something like that, there’s always a ‘but’. Don’t fuss over me, Dr. Swan, I’m a tough girl, I can handle whatever you have to say’.

‘I don’t… You’re alright… I mean…’ Emma cleared her head and concentrated on what she was about to say. ‘You just have oophoritis, it’s an inflammation of the ovaries, we caught it at a very early stage. The cause of oophoritis is usually mental and/or physical overfatigue, along with hypothermia and decreased immunity, provoked by other recent diseases’.

Regina nodded a bit.

‘Anything… rings a bell?’ Emma asked.

‘Well, I suppose I’ve had a flu over a month ago, which, as you say…’

‘…must be a reason. I’ve also gotta say this inflammation may affect your central nervous system’. Doctor Swan continued cautiously. ‘Like… decreased ability to work? Insomnia, weakness? Probably, increased irritability?’.

‘I’m not at all irritated!’ Mills said defensively.

‘Right’, Emma said, trying to hide a smile.

‘You don’t know me, Miss Swan. It’s just a part of my natural charm’, Regina said sarcastically.

To be honest, she was quite relived. The panicking voice in her head finally gave up and went away.

‘That can't be true! I’m sure usually you’re a lovely person, who spends her whole day helping old ladies cross the street and giving lollipops to kids for free’, Emma sniffed. ‘Not in a creepy way, I mean!’ she corrected herself immediately.

Regina chuckled gently.

‘I love that you have such a positive image of me in your head’.

There was a pause and exchanging of glances. Regina thought about how light in this room was flattering Emma's face.

‘So basically, the patient is treated with antibiotics to stop the microbial growth and also to kill the germs. For symptomatic relief, application of hot pad at the lower abdomen. This may help reduce the pain. I would also recommend hot bathes, as often as you can, ideally a few times a day for 10-15 minutes. Oh and…’ she hesitated for the first time in her monologue. ‘You might want to… resist the sexual intercourse for as long as you need to fully recover, I’d say about three weeks’.

‘I understand. Well, that’s a sacrifice I am willing to make’, said Regina as dramatically as possible.

Emma smiled a little.

‘I’m not at all worried about you, lady. It’s just with those looks of yours people must be lining up in front of your house and it’s them, who I feel really sorry for. The next three weeks must be tough’.

Emma was looking her straight in the eye, slightly recumbent on the back of the chair.

“She couldn’t have been… flirting, right?” Regina thought. As she definitely noticed the gender-natural ‘people’ and the lack of assumptions this time.

Regina was studying the relaxed face in front of her. Was Emma really relaxed or is it just a perfect mask, the same one she has? The silence was becoming alarmingly loud in the room.

‘I should probably head out’, Regina said, having nothing else to say.

‘Right’, Emma agreed.

They headed to the door together and the awkward pause was there once more.

‘I hope I…’ Emma started, adjusting her doctor’s smoke.

‘Yes?’ Mills asked, drawing nearer without even noticing it.

‘I hope I won’t see you again’, she said with a weak smile. Regina frowned, it wasn’t exactly what she was expecting. ‘I mean, here. In my office’, she underlined.

‘Of course. Let’s hope I will feel better soon and won’t need a doctor’s assistance’.

‘Let’s hope so’, Emma said, opening the door for her.

‘Thank you’, Regina nodded politely and took a few steps forward. ‘Dr. Swan’, she added with a wicked smile. Emma rolled her eyes and closed the door.

***

Even if Regina wanted to (which she didn’t, of course), she still couldn’t have asked Emma out or something, because it would be a scandalous violation of patient-doctor relationship. At least, that’s what she’s been telling herself all the way home from the clinic. Henry was home with Kathryn, they were right in the middle of fighting over the bowl of soup, when she returned.

‘How did it go?’ Kathryn asked, managing to push a spoon with soup in Henry’s mouth, while he’s been too happy to see Regina to resist.

‘It was okay, I’m not dying’, Mills admitted.

‘Yay!’ Kathryn cheered and turned to Henry. 'It means, Mommy’s gonna take us to the park now!’

Henry also tried to cheer, but it ended with soup dripping down his T-shirt.

Regina sighed and took care of that, while Kathryn was changing. They contrived to get ready and sit in the car in under fifteen minutes, which was quite a remarkable record for them.

Henry run to the swings, leaving Mommy and auntie Kate on the bench.

‘If you are feeling all right, why are you like that now?’

‘Like what?’ Regina clarified, not letting Henry out of her sight.

‘Like you didn’t do something you really wanted to and now you regret it’.

Regina groaned. Psychologists. Never again.

‘Stop doing that to me!’ she insisted.

‘I’m not doing anything to you!’ Kathryn laughed knowingly.

‘Well, your assumptions are stupid and I’m not regretting anything’, Regina said with great confidence.

Kathryn really knew better, than push it, so she just easily changed the subject to some local news. Regina didn’t listen, she was thinking about that small lie she has just said.

***

A week has passed. Then another. And another one.

Regina smiled, thinking about the joke Emma made about three weeks and people lining up at her door. She even peeked outside, while making tea in the morning – but there was no one on her porch, waiting for the true love. Regina smirked and reminded herself, that only absolutely idiotic people believe in fairy-tale happy ending – in real life relationships take time and effort and lots of other things she doesn’t have.

“Like a human heart and soul”, a sarcastic voice inside of her head reminded helpfully. “No offense, dearie, but you have none of those”.

Great, now the voice in her head begins to sound like Gold. What a surprise.

Regina continued stirring the porridge absentmindedly. She was so, so sleepy and so, so afunctional before her morning coffee. The phone buzzed quietly.

Regina glanced on the screen.

**Incoming message: Kathryn**

_I hope you added Frederick’s party next Saturday to your social calendar. Love you, xoxo_

‘Shit’, Regina said very quietly. Henry was still sleeping, but he learned really good how to sneak up to someone.

That stupid Frederick’s party. It was an annual event, and every year Regina promised herself she won’t go, but somehow Kathryn always managed her to promise she would. Poor, idealistic Kathryn thought that her husband’s party somehow becomes more entertaining, if they were in this together. Regina knew from her own experience – it won’t.

She sighed and typed.

**Outgoing message:**

_Maybe the end of the world will come before Saturday or, for example, the aliens will enslave us all. We never know with those things, Kathryn, so I can’t promise you anything._

She continued stirring the substance in the pan, hoping Henry won’t find out she put less sugar in there, than usual.

**Incoming message: Kathryn**

_You know I will keep texting you, until you say yes._

Regina knew that, of course. She knew that very, very well.

Henry shouted from upstairs something about being sorry for drawing on the walls, because he thought it would come off and it didn’t. Regina sighed, predicting an extremely long week.

***

Which, in fact, turned out to be less disastrous, than usual. She was productive, focused and managed to do everything – everything! – she has planned for the week. In Regina’s world, such things happened so rare, that… Well, more like never - such things never happen to her.

Which is why when Kathryn called on Friday evening (because she knew that the kid would be in the imaginary world of cartoons) with a new portion of begging, Regina was in an excellent mood and answered her phone with:

‘Fine!’

‘Are you talking to me, or is it Henry supplicating for another cookie?’

‘I will come’, Regina laughed and stretched herself on the sofa.

‘Oh my God! Thank you, thank you, thank you!’

‘Yeah, yeah, but I’ll get Henry with me. You know perfectly well, that Missis Lucas can’t cover me up on weekends’.

‘Sure, I’ll get one of the servants to play with him during the reception. Or I can even get you a nanny, if you’d like’.

‘Your butler Jason will work just fine’, Regina smiled. ‘Sometimes there are a few advantages of being the inheritress of daddy’s fortune, right?’

‘There sure are’, Kathryn laughed. ‘It starts at six, be a good girl and wear something nice’.

‘Yes, mother’, Regina rolled her eyes and hung up.

She knew, that it was a tradition to dress up for a party like this. After all, the place – Kathryn’s home – disposed to long dresses and ties, because it looked like god damn Cinderella’s castle. But Regina also knew there was absolutely no one worth charming – it was a party for Frederick’s coworkers, so basically a cool hangout for doctors and their wives and husbands, girlfriends or boyfriends, children, pets, sisters and even moms (Regina was also surprised). And maybe occasional coworkers of those coworkers. Well, all of them, Regina, Kathryn and Henry. And the problem was, she has already met most of them.

So, when the time came, Regina put on her heels, makeup, classy black dress which made men’s eyes after a few drinks glued to certain part of her body that wasn’t her face (women usually were subtler). She even put Henry in one of his nicest outfits, with a white shirt and everything.

Of course, they arrived in time. Kathryn met every guest at the front door, she looked very elegant in her emerald green dress with her fair hair in a light bun.

‘Darling, you’ve made it’, she kissed Regina on the cheek and high-fived Henry. ‘I promise you, this won’t be like any other time’.

Regina arched her eyebrow with distrust.

***

It was exactly like all the other times. The same faces, the same greetings, the same dresses and jewels and speeches and stupid personal problems and bigger patients’ problems and many other things, that were absolutely and totally identical year after year. Regina had no idea, why was it like that. Well, some people must have been new to the party, but they looked and acted so much alike, that Regina stopped noticing any differences between them a long time ago.

Her kid promised to behave and went to play with Kathryn’s butler – they were best buddies since Henry was born. Regina just stood uncomfortably in the corner with a half-full?.. half-empty?.. half-something glass of champagne and tried really hard to make herself invisible, so that people won’t pay extra attention to her, andat the same time unapproachable, so they won’t come any closer in case they do notice her. This face and posture - it was an art, it took practice, but Regina wasn’t a newbie, so she was usually surviving through the social gatherings.

‘Regina, darling, here you are’, unfortunately, that face never managed to scare Kathryn off. ‘You remember Dr. Kenneth’.

Regina shook the man’s hand. He was handsome, tanned, around fifty-five or sixty, clearly used to being the life and soul of the party.

‘I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure’, Regina smiled sincerely. He looked like an all right company and she was always terrible with names anyways.

‘The pleasure is all mine, cupcake’, he said happily. Somehow Regina wasn’t repulsed by his behavior, like she would’ve been with other men. It felt strangely normal and even comfortable, probably because of the man’s strong Father Figure Vibes, as Regina decided to call it.

‘My, you should remember each other’, Kathryn interfered, her eyes wide with astonishment. ‘Regina was just telling me all about how you wonderfully treated her last month’.

Regina opened her mouth to say something, but was suddenly interrupted.

‘I’m sorry, what did I miss?’ a lovely voice said behind their backs and Dr. Kenneth’s elbow was now occupied by a vivid whirlwind of red. After a few shocking milliseconds Regina recognized the new unknown object to be Dr. Emma Swan.

‘Emma’, she said, astonished.

Dr. Swan immediately blushed.

‘Miss Mills?’

From that moment on they were just staring at each other. Now Regina finally understood, where she should’ve met dr. Kenneth.

‘It’s… fancy meeting you here’, Emma started, maintaining the eye contact this whole time.

‘It is’, Regina was still way too surprised to say anything more productive.

‘Right’, Kathryn added, eyeing both of them suspiciously.

When Regina thought about it a little bit, it wasn’t at all surprising she run into this woman. After all, it was a doctors’ hangout, and it always gathered quite a lot of people, so it was obvious that Emma might be here.

Dr. Kenneth decided to interfere, while it was still possible to save the conversation.

‘Kathryn, darling, meet my very promising protégé, dr. Emma Swan’.

Emma shook hands with her, finally looking away from Regina.

‘You have a very lovely mansion, Mrs…?’

‘Just call me Kathryn, dear, everyone does’, she corrected Emma, touching her shoulder gently. Regina was a little bit surprised, it wasn’t like “touching the person you are talking to” was a part of etiquette. Kathryn smiled and Regina knew at that very moment, that she was caught red-handed.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma’.

‘Likewise’.

‘I’m sure you haven’t already tried canapés, James, they are wonderful’, she told dr. Kenneth, skilfully leading two of them away to the nearest tables.

So Regina and Emma would be left alone.

‘You look… fantastic’, Emma started, checking out her dress, but stumbling across the décolleté. Her eyes immediately got wide and she looked away as quickly as it was possible without cracking her neck.

Regina smiled.

‘So do you’, she said, meaning it, like she has never before. Usually this phrase was used for simple politeness, but Emma really was gorgeous in her ruby red dress and long fair hair and those big puppy eyes and… ‘I’d say, you look like a princess of this castle, fitting in and all that’.

Regina had absolutely no idea what she was saying. Emma laughed.

‘I’m no princess, believe me. I’ve stumbled and almost fell in this dress so many times I can’t even count. And you know, what’s funny? You are the second person who has called me princess today’.

‘Oh really? Who’s the first one?’

‘Hmm, let me see… That kid’, Emma pointed to the other side of the room.

They moved a little closer, so Regina could see who she was talking about.

‘Mommy, here you are!’ Henry yelled happily, running towards her.

‘What is it, my love?’ asked Regina, eyeing Emma, who seemed to be shocked.

‘Wait, that is your… Henry? Henry is your kid?’

‘Well, yeah’ Regina shrugged her shoulders. ‘Why?’

Emma shook her head.

‘Nothing, it’s just he’s so… he’s great’.

‘You don’t think I can have a great child, Doctor Swan?’ Regina arched her eyebrow.

‘No, it’s not at all what I… What I wanted to say was…’

‘Oh-oh, you’re in trouble’, Henry giggled, tugging her red dress.

‘Do you know each other?’ his mom asked him with a surprised look.

‘Sure we do, mommy! Emma played with me over there. She's the best story teller ever, even a little better, than you. She does the voices and did you know she can draw a pter… ptero…’

‘Pterodactyl’, Emma whispered to him.

‘Oh, right, that. And she loves horses, and her favorite color is blue and I said it’s a sad color and then she said…’

‘All right, Henry, honey, I get it, calm down’, Regina smiled.

‘Mommy, I don’t want a dog anymore’, Henry admitted seriously.

Regina was shocked. The dog was the biggest topic of the whole  _month_ , which is quite unusual for Henry to be so persistent. And now he just gave up, which on the scales of Henry’s behaviour is somewhere near the mark ‘Impossible’.

‘I’d like to have Emma instead. Can we keep her, mom?’

Emma looked crushed. Really touched, but crushed with having to say no to the kid. Regina laughed a bit, and then answered.

‘Henry, honey, we can’t just keep people if we like them'.

"Unfortunately", tiny voice in her head added.

'Emma has a life, you know' she continued. 'A job, she is really good at, some hobbies, friends, you know, just like us’.

‘You do?’ Henry said, looking at Emma a little bit disappointed.

‘Yeah, kid, I think your mom’s right. But it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends too, though’, she said, cautiously waiting for his mother’s approval. Regina nodded slightly.

‘Yeah? Then you’re my new best friend then. Well, you and Jason, but don’t make me choose between you two’, he frowned seriously, tugging Emma’s dress again. ‘Come play with us’.

‘Oh, Henry, I’ll just talk to your mom a bit more and then I’ll come find you. How does that sound?’

‘Awesome’, Henry said and run off to look for Jason.

Regina finished her champagne in one big sip.

‘He looked a little sad’, Emma acknowledged after a pause.

‘Of course, he was sad, he gave up a  _dog_  for you!’ Regina laughed. ‘That is like a _very huge deal_ ’, she added. ‘A whole commitment, Miss Swan, and you turned him down’.

‘Wow, now I feel horrible, thanks’, Emma smiled weakly at her.

Regina eyed at the woman carefully. She was smart, kind, charming, good with kids and had a sense of humour that matched Regina’s. Not to mention smocking hot and simply gorgeous when she smiles. It was a pity, because Regina knew very well, that no one can be that perfect.

‘If you can excuse me for a moment, I will be right back’, she said, feeling a little sick all of a sudden.

Emma seemed surprised, but didn’t say anything and just nodded. Regina hurried up to the exit, Kathryn caught her right at the doors.

‘Ah-ah, no way’, she said, holding Regina’s elbow tight. ‘You’re not backing out on this one’.

‘Why is that?’ Mills asked sharply, feeling a desperate need of fresh air.

'You were flirting so nicely with each other'.

'I was not flirting!' Regina insisted. 'I’m just... being extra nice to someone who is... extra attractive'.

‘Aha, right', Kathryn rolled her eyes. 'Look, you can't leave. You do that all the time, when you like someone – you go away for a few minutes, clear your thoughts so you can control them, then you come back and blow the person off quite harshly, so they won’t talk to you ever again’.

Regina clenched her teeth. It was her usual scheme, so he had nothing to say to such accusations.

‘Well, not with this one, darling. Think about it. Nice, handsome, funny, smart, charming… Well, enough about me, let's talk about her’, Kathryn laughed a little, trying to take the strain off, and Regina was grateful for that.

‘Doesn’t that mean, that something’s wrong with her?’ she asked sadly. It came out a little bit rude, and Regina regretted that choice of words the moment she said them.

Kathryn gazed upon her.

‘Isn’t there something wrong with all of us?’ she asked quietly.

Regina frowned, thinking. Unfortunately, Kathryn was almost always right. Almost always, because who on Earth believes that sweet popcorn is better than salty and cheese-flavored? It’s nonsense.

‘For God’s sake, Mills, grow a pair!’ her friend hissed at her, now angrily. ‘And I don’t mean boobs, you’ve got enough of those already’, she added and went away to greet the other guests.

Regina stood there for a few more seconds. She knew, of course, that Kathryn would demand the whole story eventually, and was just grateful, that this moment wasn't there yet. Regina breathed in, turned away and approached Emma quickly. Swan was just taking another glass of champagne from the waiter.

‘Miss Mills, are you feeling all right?’ she asked with agitation.

‘Would you like to have dinner with me?’ Regina said as calm as she possibly could.

Emma froze with her eyes wide open. She needed a few seconds to process, and during that time Regina regretted that decision only about a thousand times.

‘I was going to ask you the same thing later this evening’, Emma smiled sweetly.

Regina felt a need to insist.

‘Is that a “yes”?’

‘That is an “of course”!’ Emma laughed, took another glass of champagne from the passing waiter and handed it over to Regina. ‘Cheers to that?’ she asked, maintaining the same intent eye contact again, which made Regina shiver.

They clinked their glasses and drank.

‘I suggest now we go looking for Henry, while he hasn’t painted the walls in  _this_  house’, Emma took her by the hand and lead her to another room.

‘He has told you about that, hasn’t he?’ Regina groaned, submitting and following Emma with a smile.

‘Oh, believe me, he did’ Swan whispered, close enough to her ear.

Kathryn caught Regina’s look from the other part of the room and winked to her knowingly.


End file.
